“…and a man shall never see, that, when ages grow to civility and elegancy, men come to build stately, sooner than to garden finely; as if gardening were the greater perfection.” Francis Bacon, Of Gardens, 1625.
If gardening is as much a cultivation of self as it is of the natural world, then it is possibly the greatest connection to nature and our place in it as humans can have. It is also no wonder why the process of gardening can be overwhelming but equally rewarding -as any worthy endeavor in life is. Gardening and life lessons are often one in the same and inexplicably intertwined. Perhaps very few people understand this as profoundly as George Stanchfield.
Born in rural Greenville, Maine, Stanchfield made his connection to nature early on. As the youngest child in his family, and often left to his own devices for entertainment, Stanchfield spent most of his time wandering the dense forests of his Maine home. “I was the creative, artistic one,” Stanchfield recalls, “I would make my mother little jewelry boxes from wood and create with the nature around me. The forest was my refuge.” Life in remote Maine offered Stanchfield plenty of opportunities to explore and learn about nature, use natural materials for handcrafted goods, and live off of the land, but it was too cold to grow much in terms of a garden. “We couldn’t grow much -just potatoes, string beans, peas and very basic stuff,” says Stanchfield. When his parents divorced, however, he found plenty to grow when he moved to the “Garden State” of New Jersey.
In his new home, Stanchfield continued to pursue his many creative passions in the arts. After graduating high school he worked for a company in the advertising department while attending what is now Rutgers University. He later worked for a newspaper but recalls how different the job was at the time. “I worked in newspaper before there were even computers. I was dealing with hot type. You would make lines of text by using brass letters and injecting molten lead into the mold.” When the paper went under and he lost his job, Stanchfield decided to move to Massachusetts to be with his partner at the time. “I kept working various jobs, but I also just kept learning about plants and being interested in nature,” he says.
One such job was with Billingsgate Farm in Plympton where he began working in landscaping. Billingsgate farm, originally owned by the Perkins family of Plympton, then the Billings and later the Sheehan family, provided Stanchfield many opportunities to further his education and studies in nature, gardening, and landscaping. Stanchfield says, “There were always new plants coming in and I learned about all of them. I lived in a little studio on the farm and, in the winter, I went to school. I learned a lot at my time with Billingsgate Farm.”
Stanchfield continued to refine his horticultural experience by working at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston under the direction of Gary Koller. Here, his knowledge of plants and trees increased exponentially. “The Arnold Arboretum is such an important place in American horticulture,” Stanchfield explains, “A lot of plants and trees were sent here to be observed and studied and it actually served as a huge testing ground for many current day plants on the American market.” In addition to his work at the Arboretum, Stanchfield took classes from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
With an impressive and growing range of knowledge, Stanchfield then started working at local garden centers in Norwell and Kingston where he became an official garden designer. Stanchfield says, “I really got to know plants. I learned about what they like and dislike -they all have different personalities. You know, if you are around a certain tree for 30 years, you are going to know exactly what to expect from that tree and you know if something is off or different.”
After establishing himself as a gifted garden and landscape designer, as well as an expert in horticulture, Stanchfield began to take on private clients and became self-employed. Stanchfield’s work can be found throughout the state in various places from grand manors to public spaces. Often inspired by the ecological garden design of renowned English garden designer and plantswoman, Beth Chatto, and ecologist, horticulturist, and botanist, Dan Jaffey Wilder, who specializes in native plants, Stanchfield’s gardens and landscaping style is both distinct and blended perfectly into the natural surroundings -be it at a woodland edge or in a raised garden bed next to the ocean.
When asked about his garden and landscape style, Stanchfield says it greatly depends on if it is his own property or a client. “When I work with a client, at a venue or at their home, I make an agreement with them that I will customize the design to their taste, but I also want to make sure I am working in the best interest of the environment.” Stanchfield also educates his clients on their choices -giving advice, and sometimes warnings, about plants that might either harm the environment or cause trouble for the client. “I try to use non-aggressive plants, but sometimes even native plants are aggressive so they need to be kept in check,” Stanchfield warns, “Sometimes you have a native plant that can survive, say, on a beach in terrible soil, but you put it into lush garden soil and suddenly its massive and not what you originally thought it would look like.”
Stanchfield’s own gardens are a lesson in mastering ecologically sound landscaping while creating a transcending, lush experience for anyone lucky enough to visit his home. Bordering the edge of a tranquil forest, Stanchfield has created an enchanting woodland garden with pine needle paths, archways, a vibrant sea of native and woodland plants, and plants with stunning foliage, form, and natural color scheme. Inside his cozy Cape home that is peppered with décor and art inspired by and often made with nature and natural materials, it feels like stepping into a magical storybook cottage. In addition to breathtaking paintings, art, and photography by Stanchfield, the entire house feels like nature’s art gallery showcasing the outside world through large-paned windows that provide perfect framing for the design of the gardens and woodland beyond. Stanchfield has perfected the immensely difficult skill of incorporating landscape and garden design to be viewed not just outdoors but from the inside of the house.
A man of many talents, Stanchfield is more than proficient in many artistic endeavors, but he is nearly a living encyclopedia when it comes to botanical and horticultural knowledge. He shares this wisdom freely and generously every day with over 6,000 people on the South Shore on his infamous Facebook page, South of Boston Gardeners with George Stanchfield. Here, he offers the wonderful opportunity to glean knowledge from what he shares as well as provides a platform for others to ask questions, share their own advice, or raise awareness for relevant issues or causes. Stanchfield explains, “I started this page because I saw a need. I answered a gardening question on another Facebook page years back and I found more and more people followed that with more questions for me. I became the go-to garden guy on that page. I decided to start my own page. I wanted to give people a place they could ask questions and not be advertised to or bullied. I wanted to also infuse the page with humor.”
Through the South of Boston Gardeners page, many have come to learn priceless lessons about the environment and the impact individuals can have in their own local ecosystems. “People need to remember that the choices they make in their yards and gardens will have implications, for better or worse, for future generations of those who live there. People need to remember that they won’t be there forever, but the impact they make on their property will be there for a long time,” Stanchfield says. He also bans the suggestions or recommendations of the use of toxic chemicals and unsound landscaping maintenance practices on his page.
Stanchfield’s page is a wealth of wisdom and insight readily available to anyone who is interested. “People need to know what they are doing out there,” he says smiling, “You can’t just go out into the garden and have success without a bit of learning first. You need to learn about the plants you want but also you need to learn your site. You must understand if you have full sun, dappled shade, clay or sandy soil -your environment will determine what you can plant and where.”
One of his biggest tips for gardeners? “Read the plant labels! Read the tags. They will tell you about what the plant needs.” He further advises, “But don’t confuse the phrase on tags ‘will tolerate’ with ‘thrives in’ or ‘requires’. If a plant can tolerate something that doesn’t mean its happy or thriving there. Many plants can ‘tolerate’ a site to death and people don’t understand why their plant was okay for a few years and then it dies. It’s likely because it wasn’t given the conditions it really wanted to thrive in. Don’t spend your time and money on plants without learning about them.”
Through his Facebook page, Stanchfield offers applicable advice to both the expert and seasoned gardener or landscape designer as well as invaluable knowledge and tips to new gardeners. “Don’t choose plants based only on their flower. Foliage is just as important. When it is out of bloom you still want to like looking at it. You have to ask questions. If you are just starting out gardening, don’t buy plants from a big box store. Purchase plants from garden centers where the people who work there are knowledgeable and will give you advice appropriate to the area you are looking to plant in. Read plant labels, look on the internet, and read books about your plants. And you have to read more than two sentences -it requires a bit of effort. Visit the gardens of people who you can see are doing something right. Visit public gardens and botanical gardens. They are learning centers of putting the right plants in the right places.”
Long a champion of native plants and ecologically sound garden and landscape design, Stanchfield recommends several of his favorite gardens and nature preserves to take inspiration from. “The New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, Arnold Arboretum, the Rose Kennedy Greenway in Boston, Garden in the Woods, Burrage Pond, Cato’s Ridge -all of these are places you should go to see how things should be done and work best and to be inspired by nature.”
Anyone who follows Stanchfield’s page knows his early morning walks at Burrage Pond result in some of the most stunning landscape and nature photography around. “It is just a magical wonderland there,” Stanchfield muses, “There is one area where if you look closely there are hundreds of funnel spider webs in the hedges and when the sunrise hits them with the dew on them they just sparkle.” Through his updates on the wildlife spotted on a given morning to endangered or native plants discovered on his walks, Stanchfield is a perfect example of how to fully immerse oneself in the local ecosystem and appreciate and respect the many intricacies taking place.
When asked what he would like the community to know, Stanchfield says, “We need to integrate natural and organic gardening methods. Even baby steps are good steps,” he assures. “Learn about the importance of native plants. Our climate is headed in a different direction and you have to know what you are doing. We need to start making careful and conscientious choices about what we are putting on and into the earth.” He assures, “I am not asking people to make massive changes or plant only native plants, but just removing one or two harsh chemicals from your routine or adding one or two native plants to the garden -little things will make a difference -you will see. You will also come to understand the seasons locally by how the native plants change with the seasons.”
Perhaps the most important contribution Stanchfield makes to our local horticultural community? “Hope. I have this silly little hope that people will start doing the right thing and changes will start to come about. I have to hope that people who learn are people who will change and it will make a difference.” With Stanchfield’s admirable and selfless spreading of not only sound but truly ethical and wise advice and expertise, the gardeners on the South Shore are well on their way to preserving, rather than exploiting the environment and working with nature in our gardens and communities instead of trying to fight or dominate it. Stanchfield is one to be watched and emulated to better find our way as respectful participants in the environment and perhaps to find increased success, learning, and joy in our own endeavors with the “greater perfection” in our yards and our communities.